Markram, Marsh and Badoni push LSG to 159 against DC in Lucknow

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) started well after being put in at the Ekana Stadium, but Mukesh Kumar led a remarkable Delhi Capitals (DC) fightback to restrict the hosts to 159 for 6. After being on 87 for 0 in the tenth over, LSG managed only 72 off the last ten.

LSG captain Rishabh Pant didn't walk out to bat until his team was five down, with just two balls left in their innings. After stepping out to his first ball and missing, he didn't connect with a reverse-ramp next ball and ended up deflecting the ball back on to the stumps off his pads for a duck. Mukesh came away with figures of 4-0-33-4.

Aiden Markram and Mitchell Marsh had dominated the powerplay, taking LSG to 51 for 0. It was Dushmantha Chameera, who was playing his first game of the season, who ended the opening stand on 87, when he had Markram holing out to sweeper cover for 52 off 33 balls.

Having taken the new ball, Axar Patel bowled four overs on the trot, conceding 29 runs off them. This allowed him to backload Kuldeep Yadav's overs. Kuldeep bowled the 11th, 13th, 15th and 17th, conceding 33 runs for no wickets.

Mukesh struck twice in the 14th over, dismissing Abdul Samad (2), who was promoted to No. 4, and Marsh (45). Impact Player Ayush Badoni's 36 off 21 balls gave LSG's total a modicum of respectability before Mukesh cleaned him and Pant up in the last over. At the break, Badoni suggested that though the pitch was slow, 180 was the par score. At the toss, Axar had reckoned that dew would make conditions easier for batting during the chase.